Production from Edinburgh-registered Premier Oil’s North Sea fields is exceeding the company’s expectations after it successfully completed maintenance over the summer.
The London-listed company’s shares ticked up on the news after sliding 67% over the past four months – closely mirroring the steep fall in the price of crude oil since June 2014. N. Sea benchmark Brent crude has since been in the doldrums at between $45-$50-barrel.
Premier Oil said it had so far been pumping oil at a rate of 57,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) this year, ahead of its forecast of 55,000 boepd.
And a new West of Shetland field – Solan – is due to start producing oil in the fourth quarter, meaning that its daily output could rise further later in the year.
Meanwhile, Premier has hedged approximately 60% of its 2H2015 liquids production at $92-barrel, and 30% of its expected liquids production in 2016 at $68-barrel.
And as a result of ‘significant’ cost savings, Premier continues to expect full-year operating expenditure of around £10-barrel, which is among the lowest in the North Sea.
Premier also has interests in oil exploration licences in the Falkland Islands.
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